Massapequa Park family’s snowman survives rain, warmth

The 14-foot snowman outside the Massapequa Park home of Mike Fregoe and his family on Tuesday, Feb. 16, 2016, after a warm spell and rain. The family wrapped the snowman in plastic and wedged an umbrella in its head to keep it from melting. They plan to keep the snowman in place through the spring. Photo Credit: Mike Fregoe

The 14-foot snowman outside the Massapequa Park home of Mike Fregoe and his family on Tuesday, Feb. 16, 2016, after a warm spell and rain. The family wrapped the snowman in plastic and wedged an umbrella in its head to keep it from melting. They plan to keep the snowman in place through the spring. (Credit: Mike Fregoe)

A little wet weather won’t derail the Fregoe family’s goal of keeping through the spring a snowman they’ve built in the front yard of their Massapequa Park home.

Before the rain hit Monday night, Mike Fregoe and his daughter Julia, 11, added fresh snow to their snowman, then tightly wrapped it in plastic. Fregoe, 51, then climbed to the top of an extension ladder to plant a large beach umbrella...

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A little wet weather won’t derail the Fregoe family’s goal of keeping through the spring a snowman they’ve built in the front yard of their Massapequa Park home.

Before the rain hit Monday night, Mike Fregoe and his daughter Julia, 11, added fresh snow to their snowman, then tightly wrapped it in plastic. Fregoe, 51, then climbed to the top of an extension ladder to plant a large beach umbrella into the top of the 14-foot snowman’s head, anchoring it in place with rope.

Fregoe said Tuesday the snowman is “looking a little thinner” and has “probably lost a few pounds” from the heavy rain. But it has fared surprisingly well against the strong winds and climbing temperatures.

In the coming days, the family plans to strip the snowman of its “raincoat” and replace the umbrella with a green top hat in preparation for St. Patrick’s Day, Fregoe said.

Last year, the family crowdsourced their snowman, soliciting contributions of snow through a Save the Snowman Facebook page. Fregoe said the page, which now has close to 3,700 followers, prompted dozens of people to bring buckets of powder from all over Long Island and as far as Vermont, keeping the slowly melting snowman standing until April 20.